DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract) This application for renewal of our multidisciplinary training grant provides training at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. Since the original application, we have added new relevant faculty to the University and to the training grant. The training faculty, as a group, represents all levels of seniority and their research covers many important aspects of cardiovascular research training ranging from basic cell biology, to whole animal and human physiology to gene therapy. Our training program consists of 4 areas: 1) Gene Therapy, 2) Genetic Manipulation/Gene Mapping, 3) The Sarcomere and the Cytoskeleton, 4) Cardiovascular Development and Function. Predoctoral trainees will receive the PhD degree from one of two departments: Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB), or Kinesiology. Formal course work and a Qualifying Exam are required. Postdoctoral trainees (either PhD), MD, or MD-PhD) will spend 2-3 years in the laboratory, and depending on their background, they may participate in a graduate course in Molecular Genetics. MD applicants who are Cardiology Fellows will obtain their clinical cardiology training either before or after their research tenure. Since the last application, a Cardiovascular Research Institute has been established as a joint venture between Boulder and Health Sciences in Denver and the trainers on this application are all members. In addition, we have established a formal link with the MD-PhD) program in Denver that allows those students to do their thesis work in Boulder. This training grant can facilitate those ventures.